2020 CPRS AGM
President’s Remarks
by Victor Vrsnik, MCM, APR, FCPRS
Greeting CPRS members!
As CPRS National President, I’ve had the honour of representing our Society since last year’s AGM. Without question, this year has been a challenging one, not only for our Society but for our country, let alone the world. Despite the headwinds we have faced – the pandemic, resulting membership challenges, and operational and leadership changes – my spirits have been lifted by the Society’s amazing esprit de corps.
From the bird’s eye view of President, I have been so heartened by the commitment and engagement of our leaders, including the National Board Directors, local society Presidents and Boards, our committee Chairs and Presiding Officers, our volunteers, as well as our Executive Director and the Managing Matters team.
The strength of character and depth of talent displayed by our team has made me prouder than ever to call myself a CPRS member.
Back in July 2019, when my term began, our energy was focused on carrying forward the priorities of the three-year Strategic Plan - that was presented at our last AGM. Since that time, working with the Executive team, the Board has constantly kept our strategic priorities as our true north.
As a reminder, our four strategic pillars are: Community, Collaboration, Conscience and Careers.
Our focus has been on strengthening supports for local societies – by identifying and addressing obstacles in the way of their success. The President’s Council and the online Chapter Collaboration Centre have become platforms for a dynamic exchange of ideas and information, all driven by the Local Societies.
We followed through on the development of the Atlantic Council, driven by Wayne Knorr, APR, and team… and I’m delighted to say that we completed the work of the French Services Task Force under the leadership of Brigitte Stock, ARP, to strive toward parity in the delivery of English and French language services. These are all part of the Community pillar.
Collaboration is often now virtual, which has posed challenges, but also, opportunities, such as the delivery of the coffee chats – bringing together members across Canada to collaborate on pressing PR themes and issues, as well as the creation of the new COVID 19 Resource Centre.
For the Conscience pillar, we thank the National Task Force on Ethical Public Relations led by Kim Blanchette and Coleen Killingsworth – so important for our Society and industry, and which we will hear more about after the meeting.
We know that the Careers pillar is more important than ever. Not to let a global pandemic stand in the way, our team carried on with the PRK and APR programs to meet the needs of our members and collaborated with the Global Alliance on a new skills and competency framework to support members. We’ll continue to look for professional development opportunities that enable members to upskill to meet today’s challenging job market.
Finally, underlying all four strategic pillars is the need to ensure the long-term financial viability and sustainability of our Society. There will be no membership dues increase this year. On the contrary, cognizant of the economic conditions faced by many of us, the Board created the Membership in Transition category, which cuts in half the National fees to support members caught in unexpected circumstances.
In addition to the four strategic pillars, CPRS managed to pivot on a dime to convert the in-person conference to a successful virtual conference, led by Kiki Cloutier, Vince Power, APR, FCPRS and the team.
We solidified our arrangements this year with the newly named CPRS Foundation, under the leadership of Deborah Trouten, APR, FCPRS. We’re proud to be associated with the Foundation that helps PR and communications students with scholarships year-after-year.
You could easily describe our Awards of Excellence program this year as explosive, with record entries, and the creation of many new award categories – a credit to the hard work by Lisa Covens and Béatrice Pepper APR, FCPRS. The program recognizes excellence in the profession, and today we’ll recognize some very special individuals meriting a Major Award.
Our CPRS community is inspirational and I thank you all for your support and contribution to our Society. A crisis like the pandemic can bring out the best in individuals and the CPRS team delivered.
Thank you.
Victor Vrsnik, MCM, APR, FCPRS
National President, 2019-20